Hurd Peak is a mountain summit located one mile east of the crest of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range in Inyo County of northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. Surrounded by lakes, it is situated in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is approximately west of the community of Big Pine, west of

Picture Puzzle A sliding puzzle, sliding block puzzle, or sliding tile puzzle is a combination puzzle that challenges a player to slide (frequently flat) pieces along certain routes (usually on a board) to establish a certain end-configuration. The pieces to ...

, and north of parent Mount Goode. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises nearly above South Lake in approximately one mile.

Etymology

This mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1920 by the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

based on a recommendation by the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

. It honors the memory of Hurd Clarence Hurd (April 16, 1870 – July 8, 1914), who made the

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

in 1906 while connected with development work in the vicinity. H. C. Hurd was a civil engineer who received his degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1893. He was elected as a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1913, but the following year met an untimely death by accidental drowning in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

Climbing

Established climbing routes on Hurd Peak:Hurd Peak, Mountainproject.com
/ref> * West Face via Treasure Lakes – * East Face – class 3 * South Ridge – class 4 * Northeast Arete – class 5.5 * North Ridge – class 5.7

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Hurd Peak is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

zone. Most weather fronts originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or

snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

onto the range ( orographic lift). Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from this mountain drains into the South Fork of Bishop Creek.

Gallery

File:Our last look of beauty Long Lake - Flickr - daveynin.jpg, Southeast aspect, with Spearhead Lake and Long Lake File:South Lake, Hurd Peak.jpg, Hurd Peak (left) from South Lake File:Hurd Peak, Bishop Pass Trail.jpg, North aspect, with Mt. Goode to left File:Hurd Peak NW.jpg, Northwest aspect, from Lake 10668 of Treasure Lakes File:Hurd Peak SE.jpg, Southeast aspect, with Saddlerock Lake File:Hurd Peak.jpg

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Hurd Peak
* Hurd Peak Rock Climbing
Mountainproject.com
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Hurd Peak , North = South Lake , Northeast = Long Lake , East =

Cloudripper Cloudripper is a 13,525-foot-elevation (4,122 meter) mountain summit located two miles east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County of northern California, United States. It is situated in the Palisades area of the John M ...

, ESE =

, Southeast = Bishop Pass , South = Mount Goode , Southwest = Mount Johnson , West = Mount Thompson , Northwest = Treasure Lakes Inyo National Forest Mountains of Inyo County, California Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness North American 3000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)